The Other or: Scenes From a Failed Session
by Azremodehar
Summary: Rassilon knew it was coming.  Spoilers for DW, kinda, MASSIVE spoilers for HS.


_Usually,_ the First Guardian tells them later, _the session produces a Hero of Time. Yours seems to be rather an exception._

This is neither the way it begins, nor the way it ends.

-

Rassilon saw it coming. This is not something they learn until after Seer of Void defeats his Denizen, but it doesn't come as a surprise to any of them.

This is neither the way it begins, nor the way it ends.

-

The Queen of Space stands toe to toe with the Black Queen in her own castle on Derse, and laughs her defiance. Her consciousness split in a way that transcends anything anyone before had anticipated, in the Land of Bats and Frogs, Ushas lays on her Quest Bed, and drives the knives through both of her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And drives the knives through her hearts.

And becomes a _god._

Rassilon never predicted _this._

This is neither the way it begins, nor the way it ends for any but the Black Queen.

-

It's Drax who sends their first Exile to Gallifrey, an Agent of Derse who both is and is not surprised.

It's another Agent of Derse who stabs him in the back, and that's how they learn that you only get one life in the dream, no matter how many your 'real' self has. He is never the same.

This is the way it ends, for him.

-

Magnus doesn't make it the first time around.

Or the second.

Or the third.

By the fourth time Theta tries and fails, tries and dies, there are so many split timelines it's giving them all a headache from the paradox of it, and Koschei asks him sarcastically if 'Knight of Hope' is really a fitting title.

Eventually it takes three of the Deca to change things, to fix things enough for Magnus to make it through and save their session from doom. Every player is necessary, no matter how odd a name like 'Heir of War' sounds.

This is only the beginning for Magnus, and the end for half a dozen timelines at least.

Every one of them can feel every timeline peter out and die. But Hope never does.

-

The Witch of Breath dies first, though it's not her dreamself. It is also not on her Quest Bed, because no-one knows about that yet. When they learn, they wonder if she can still ascend, if it takes all of a Time Lord's lives, or only the one.

As it turns out, it doesn't matter, because when the Prince of Rage wakes into the dream on Prospit, he destroys the moon, and the chance of any who haven't yet to rise.

The Knight of Hope can't help but think it's a good thing that _he_ is on Derse.

In the end, this is what breaks their session.

-

Theta dies. And he dies, and he dies, and he dies, and he never ascends, and he never regenerates, and when he finally speaks to the First Guardian, he learns this is the role usually played by the Hero of Time.

_But we're all Time Lords!_ he protests, the thoughts in his mind stretching over time and space and paradox, screaming through the ages, and none of it matters.

_But you, Theta Sigma, are the only one who tries,_ the First Guardian replies, and doesn't elaborate, or explain, or tell him anything to set him on the right path.

This is not the end for him, nor is it the beginning.

-

Koschei finds his Quest Bed, and it only takes him one try to die and ascend: he burns all his regenerations at once, and this is also how he defeats his Denizen, well before he is supposed to be able to.

This is when he learns that Rassilon saw it coming, seeing far into the Void, and beyond, in the instant that he rises up.

The first thing the Seer of Void does after his ascencion, is to go to the Land of Shine and Boxes, and ensure the ascension of the Knight of Hope himself.

And then does the same for Magnus.

And for Rallon.

For the others, it's already too late: the only Prospit dreamer to ascend is the first.

Ushas.

-

Drax dies and dies and dies, and is using up his regenerations far too fast, but it doesn't matter.

Even with the help of the Mage of Life, he cannot get back to Derse. He cannot sleep properly, he cannot ascend, and all he can do is hope desperately.

But even Theta cannot help him, and he burns his last regeneration fighting the Black King.

-

The Heir of War leads the first charge against the Black King, and is carried on Vansell's back as they flee in retreat, the light of his renegeration leaving a glowing trail over the surface of Skaia.

"Well that answers that question," Rallon says aloud, as Koschei and Ushas work to shield them all from the ever-watching Eye that is part of the Black King. "Whether or not you can regenerate in the God Tier," he elaborates.

This is almost the end.

-

It starts when one of them idly wonders just what the High Council does for fun, and continues when another quips that they've probably forgotten how.

It's surprisingly easy - though not in retrospect - to hack into the encrypted databases, and steal the game. It seems only natural that the High Council of Time Lords would play a game that involves rearranging the spatial dimensions of a friend's living quarters for fun.

They're at it for days, before the first meteor appears, and by then it's far too late.

This is the beginning, and this is the end, for Gallifrey.

-

Jelpax dies and Mortimus dies and they die and they die and they die, and they _all die,_ throwing themselves against the Black King, and in the end, they fail, and the session becomes unwinnable.

_It was made unwinnable long ago,_ the First Guardian tells the Knight of Hope, when he is the only one left.

The last of the Time Lords stands on the broken husk of Skaia, and there is only one hope left.

He makes the scratch.

This is both the end and the beginning.

- 


End file.
